Kozlovič, who has a master's degree in law, served as secretary general of the Miro Cerar government (2014-18).

Announcing her appointment, which is effective as of Tuesday, the Government Communication Office said that Kozlovič had a wealth of public administration leadership experience.

Kozlovič worked as the head of the Koper administrative unit prior to being elected MP for the Modern Centre Party (SMC) in 2014.

She left parliament in September 2016 to become government secretary general, and was a key member of the task force overseeing the implementation of the Slovenia-Croatia border arbitration agreement.

The Environment Agency has been facing allegations of inefficiency and of succumbing to the interests of big capital for years.

The previous director general, Joško Knez, stepped down in November 2018 after an internal audit found serious mistakes in two procedures related to natural gas exploitation in Petišovci in eastern Slovenia.

Knez's deputy Gregor Sluga was appointed as interim director for up to six months, and then Kozlovič in May. A public call for applications to fill the post followed, but had to be repeated over an error.

The agency is a part of the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, which is led by another former SMC deputy, Simon Zajc.